The religious makeup of the incoming 111th Congress roughly matches the overall American religious landscape, with overrepresentation among Jews and Mormons, according to new analysis by the nonpartisan Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

There was a little something for everyone -- patients, pharmacists, even providers of wheelchairs and oxygen machines -- in Congress' legislation to overturn a Medicare cut for doctors. And with those sweeteners, the ranks of Republicans willing to break with the president began to grow.

Makers and sellers of wheelchairs, oxygen machines and other medical equipment are on the verge of getting Congress to delay, if not scrap, a new program the Bush administration says would save Medicare about $1 billion a year.

U.S. House members spent $20.3 million in tax money last year to send constituents what's often the government equivalent of junk mail -- meeting announcements, tips on car care and job interviews, surveys on public policy and just plain bragging.